Court refuses arraignment of Ganduje’s critic, Muaz Magaji

A Kano State Magistrate’s Court sitting at Noman’s Land and presided by Senior Magistrate Aminu Gabari could not take the arraignment of former Commissioner for Works Muaz Magaji on Friday because the court took judicial notice of the bad condition in which he was brought to the court.

Muaz Magaji, a critic of Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje was arrested Thursday night in Abuja after appearing on a live television program.

He was later brought to Kano  the same night through Azman Air, which left Abuja around 12.30am.

He was brought to court on Friday to be arraigned on allegation of Criminal Defamation against Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in such a bad shape that the presiding magistrate had to rebuff the police for bringing him to court in a turn cloth stained with blood.

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Police spokesman for the Kano command, Abdullahi Kiyawa, said the police had to arrest Muaz in Abuja after he refused to submit for questioning despite several invitations.

Kiyawa, said the police invited him, following a directive of the court to investigate him.

“We are currently investigating charges of defamation of character, intentional insult, injurious falsehood and inciting disturbance against Muaz Magaji,” the police spokesman said.

The law firm of Adekunle Taiye Falola & Co. filed a direct complaint against Magaji at  the Magistrate’s Court in Kano.

A copy of the formal complaint letter read in part: “We are Solicitors to the Executive Governor of Kano State, His Excellency, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (hereinafter referred to as “our client”) and on whose behalf we write to directly complain against Muaz Magaji (hereinafter referred to as “the suspect”) for the commission of the grievous offences of Criminal Defamation of Character, Assault, Intentional Insult with the Intent to Provoke Breach of Peace and Inciting Disturbance and Disaffection contrary to inter-alia the provisions of Sections 114, 264 and 399 of the Penal Code Law in force in Kano State,

“As a foundation to our client’s complaint, we are instructed by our client that the suspect posted a picture portraying our client as an immoral and ungodly man engaged in an extra-marital affair with a strange woman whose face appeared in the said picture. We are instructed by our client that the said picture had been widely circulated by the suspect on several social media platforms, in a brazen attempt to assassinate the character, goodwill, good name and image of our client, the first citizen of Kano State, which he built for several decades in civil service and in frontline politics in Nigeria.”

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Counsel to Magaji, Ghazzali Datti Ahmad, vehemently opposed the arraignment of his client in his bad condition, while counsel to the state Wada A. Wada, insisted on his arraignment.

The Magistrate ruled that after taking notice of his bad condition, he would not allow him to be arraigned as there was no even any report from the police to explain why he was in such a bad shape.

He therefore ordered that the “suspect” be taken to a medical facility for proper treatment.

The Magistrate however said since he has not been arraigned and his plea taken, he could not order for his bail or continued detention, but advised the polce to do the needful.

The matter was later slated for Monday January, 31st